Biochemical, physiological and transcriptomic strategies to study the relationship between carotenoids, oxidative stress and Citrus fruit quality.

• Grant number: 17/06032-2
• Support type: Scholarships abroad - Research
• Effective date (Start): September 11, 2017
• Effective date (End): September 10, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biochemistry - Metabolism and Bioenergetics
• Principal researcher: Marcelo Paes de Barros
• Grantee: Marcelo Paes de Barros
• Host: Maria Jesus Rodrigo Esteve
• Home Institution: Pró-Reitoria de Pós-Graduação e Pesquisa. Universidade Cruzeiro do Sul (UNICSUL). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Research place: Instituto de Agroquímica y Tecnología de Alimentos (IATA), Spain

Abstract

Citrus fruits are the most cultivated fruit crop for human consumption worldwide, accounting for more than 100 million TM per year. Brazil is responsible for approximately ¼ of that production, mostly oranges. In the Mediterranean, Spain produces around 22 million TM/year with a high diversity of products. Regarding human nutrition, the regular consumption of citrus fruits has been associated with lower occurrence of chronic-degenerative diseases, especially those with a redox-triggering mechanism, involving reactive oxygen/nitrogen species (RONS). At least part of the health benefits provided by regular uptake of citrus fruits in diet comes from their carotenoid (as antioxidants and pro-vitamin A agents) and ascorbic acid (also an antioxidant and a co-factor for hydroxilases) contents. These micronutrients are responsible for preventing cellular oxidative modifications by RONS during regular aerobic metabolism, or under more (oxidative) challenging conditions in pathological processes. A diversity of colors in citrus fruits relates with a vast composition of carotenoids in peel and pulp, e.g. alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, beta-cryptoxanthin, and lycopene. Therefore, different carotenoid/ascorbate contents in citrus could, hypothetically, provide extracts with a wide range of antioxidant activities for human consumption, depending on their form of absorption, bioavailability, etc. The study of carotenogenesis in citrus related to their antioxidant capacity could shed light about their contribution in human nutrition, with a putative implication for preventing redox-mediated diseases. In addition, carotenoids and ascorbic acid are also involved in the prevention of chilling injury in citrus fruits, which is a pivotal issue concerning storage, conservation, and the commercial value of their products. Since 2003, the "Postharvest Physiology and Fruit Quality Laboratories", at the Institute of Agricultural Chemistry and Food Technology (IATA-CSIC, Valencia, Spain) study the biosynthesis and accumulation of carotenoid compounds in citrus, mostly by transcriptomic techniques (RNAseq.) in order to better understand the link between genomic information, regulatory pathways, mutations, and the quality of the end-products. The aims of this project are: (i) evaluate the participation of carotenoids in the preservation of post-harvested citrus fruits against chilling injuries; and (ii) study the antioxidant capacity of carotenoids (in synergism with ascorbic acid) and the nutritional value of citrus fruits, by applying classic biochemical assays (ORAC, ABTS, etc.), but also testing carotenoid-rich extracts from different citrus (including mutational products) in biomimicking membranes (liposomes) loaded with redox-sensitive probes, as C11-BODIPY 581/591.

Scientific publications

(7)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

DE BARROS, MARCELO PAES; ARAUJO-CHAVES, JULIANA CASARES; BRITO, ADRIANNE MARLISE MENDES; NANTES-CARDOSO, ISELI LOURENCO. Oxidative/Nitrative Mechanism of Molsidomine Mitotoxicity Assayed by the Cytochrome c Reaction with SIN-1 in Models of Biological Membranes. Chemical Research in Toxicology, v. 33, n. 11, p. 2775-2784, NOV 16 2020. Web of Science Citations: 0.

EL-MAFARJEH, ELIAS; MARTINS, GISELE HENRIQUE CARDOSO; PROBST, JESSICA JORGE; SANTOS-DIAS, ALANA; OLIVEIRA-JUNIOR, MANOEL CARNEIRO; DE BARROS, MARCELO PAES; DE OLIVEIRA, LUIS VICENTE FRANCO; DE ANDRADE, LEANDRO DAMAS; DA PALMA, RENATA KELLY; MORAES-FERREIRA, RENILSON; DE CAMARGO HIZUME-KUNZLER, DEBORAH; BACHI, ANDRE LUIS LACERDA; VIEIRA, RODOLFO P. Exercise Improves Lung Inflammation, but Not Lung Remodeling and Mechanics in a Model of Bleomycin-Induced Lung Fibrosis. OXIDATIVE MEDICINE AND CELLULAR LONGEVITY, v. 2020, OCT 17 2020. Web of Science Citations: 0.

GALLO, MICHELLE; MORSE, DAVID; HOLLNAGEL, HELOISA C.; BARROS, MARCELO P. Oxidative stress and toxicology of Cu2+ based on surface areas in mixed cultures of green alga and cyanobacteria: The pivotal role of H2O2. AQUATIC TOXICOLOGY, v. 222, MAY 2020. Web of Science Citations: 0.

CARDOSO, CAROLINA VIEIRA; DE BARROS, MARCELO PAES; LACERDA BACHI, ANDRE LUIS; BERNARDI, MARIA MARTHA; KIRSTEN, THIAGO BERTI; MONTEIRO MARTINS, MARIA DE FATIMA; DELL'ARMELINA ROCHA, PAULO RICARDO; RODRIGUES, PAULA DA SILVA; BONDAN, EDUARDO FERNANDES. 4Chemobrain in rats: Behavioral, morphological, oxidative and inflammatory effects of doxorubicin administration. Behavioural Brain Research, v. 378, JAN 27 2020. Web of Science Citations: 0.

ALMEIDA, EWIN B.; SANTOS, JULIANA M. B.; PAIXAO, VITORIA; AMARAL, JONATAS B.; FOSTER, ROBERTA; SPERANDIO, ADRIANE; ROSEIRA, TAMARIS; ROSSI, MARCELO; CORDEIRO, TELMA G.; MONTEIRO, FERNANDA R.; AMIRATO, GISLENE R.; SANTOS, CARLOS A. F.; VIEIRA, RODOLFO P.; VAISBERG, MAURO; BARROS, MARCELO; BACHI, ANDRE L. L. L-Glutamine Supplementation Improves the Benefits of Combined-Exercise Training on Oral Redox Balance and Inflammatory Status in Elderly Individuals. OXIDATIVE MEDICINE AND CELLULAR LONGEVITY, v. 2020, JAN 22 2020. Web of Science Citations: 0.

BACHI, ANDRE L. L.; BARROS, MARCELO P.; VIEIRA, RODOLFO P.; ROCHA, GISLENE A.; DE ANDRADE, PAULA B. M.; VICTORINO, ANGELICA B.; RAMOS, LUIZ R.; GRAVINA, CLAUDIA F.; LOPES, JOSE D.; VAISBERG, MAURO; MARANHAO, RAUL C. Combined Exercise Training Performed by Elderly Women Reduces Redox Indexes and Proinflammatory Cytokines Related to Atherogenesis. OXIDATIVE MEDICINE AND CELLULAR LONGEVITY, v. 2019, AUG 5 2019. Web of Science Citations: 1.

MANO, CAMILA M.; GUARATINI, THAIS; CARDOZO, KARINA H. M.; COLEPICOLO, PIO; BECHARA, ETELVINO J. H.; BARROS, MARCELO P. Astaxanthin Restrains Nitrative-Oxidative Peroxidation in Mitochondrial-Mimetic Liposomes: A Pre-Apoptosis Model. MARINE DRUGS, v. 16, n. 4 APR 2018. Web of Science Citations: 2.